This report is about the challenges and recommended protective actions for small businesses along coastal Louisiana from St. Bernard Parish to Delcambre in Iberia/Vermilion Parishes to extreme weather and sea level rise risk. It was funded by a grant from the Entergy Foundation in 2015.

This report is about the challenges and recommended protective actions for small businesses along coastal Louisiana from St. Bernard Parish to Delcambre in Iberia/Vermilion Parishes to extreme weather and sea level rise risk. It was funded by a grant from the Entergy Foundation in 2015.

Lowlander Center sponsored Tegan Billiot from Pointe au Chien Tribe and Savannah Lynn Ancar of the Atakapa Ishak-Chawasha Tribe to be part of the NAACP's Environmental and Climate Justice Youth Delegation.

New Orleans, LA (September 12, 2017) -- The flooding on August 5, 2017, shone a bright light on New Orleans’ environmental and infrastructural vulnerabilities when it comes to flood risk, and the need for well-informed leadership on storm water management, green infrastructure, and coastal restoration. To that end, the Urban Conservancy with the Greater New Orleans Foundation as lead sponsor will host a mayoral forum on “Flood Risk and Adapting to Environmental Change.”

The moderated forum will give candidates the opportunity to answer questions about New Orleans’ future with water. How will New Orleans respond to Louisiana's ongoing coastal land loss crisis and restoration efforts? What are the next steps for the City’s flood protection? What will be the future of living with water? And how will the City commit to climate change adaptation and the Paris Climate Accord? Nathan Lott, director of the Water Collaborative of Greater New Orleans, will moderate this discussion.

“This is a conversation that is long overdue in New Orleans,” says event organizer and Urban Conservancy board member Lindsay Pick. “As a native New Orleanian and a business owner, I recognize the critical leadership role New Orleans must take to ensure that we can thrive and prosper here for another 300 years.”

All candidates were invited to participate, and the following have confirmed their participation by submitting bios and personal statements on the issue by the deadline: Michael Bagneris, Ed Bruski, LaToya Cantrell, Desiree Charbonnet, Brandon Dorrington, Troy Henry, Matthew Hill, and Johnese Smith.

Sponsors include the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana, The Lens, the Tulane Institute on Water Resources Law & Policy, the Tulane ByWater Institute, the Gulf Restoration Network, the Lowlander Institute, the Okra Inn, and the Water Collaborative of Greater New Orleans.

The Mayoral Forum on Flood Risk and Adapting to Environmental Change is hosted by the Urban Conservancy and will be held on the evening of Thursday September 14th from 5:30-7:00pm at the New Orleans Jazz Market, 1436 Oretha Castle Haley Boulevard.

The Forum is open to the public, but people are encouraged to RSVP. Doors open at 5:00pm. The Forum will be streamed live at urbanconservancy.org, crcl.org, and TheLensNOLA.org, rebroadcast at 5 pm on September 15th on WHIV FM 102.3 and available for on-demand viewing on multiple sponsor websites following the event.

About the Urban Conservancy: Since 2001, the Urban Conservancy has catalyzed equitable practices and policies related to the urban built environment and local economies through research, education, and advocacy.